Top 10 blog posts of 2016

Throughout the year, we had the privilege of featuring some of the best photojournalism made by Associated Press photographers on our blog.

From the shocking photos of the assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey made by photographer Burhan Ozbilici, to a rare look inside a secret FARC camp deep in the Colombian jungle by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Rodrigo Abd, here is a look at our most viewed blog posts of 2016.

Photos by Burhan Ozbilici

Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici was covering a photo exhibition when a gunman opened fire, assassinating Russia's ambassador to Turkey. In this post, he recounts the chaos that unfolded as he captured the scene.

Photos by Rodrigo Abd

The rebel leader known as Juan Pablo carries with him a new telescopic assault rifle and a heavy heart. As a commander of the 36th Front of the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, one of the most active units in a half-century of bloodshed, the paunch-bellied warrior has spent 25 years plotting ambushes and assembling land mines but has never been to the movies, driven a car or eaten in a restaurant.

Photos by Ben Curtis

AP's chief photographer and acting bureau chief for East Africa Ben Curtis was in Nairobi covering demonstrations against Kenya's electoral commission when he witnessed police kicking and beating fleeing protestors with wooden clubs. One image captured the brutality so vividly that Kenya's police chief has called for an internal investigation.

Photos by Ben Margot

With executions on hold in California and a death penalty appeals process that can take years, many inmates on the nation's largest death row say they spend little time worrying about the lethal injection that may one day kill them.

Photos by Felipe Dana

Not far from Rio's posh Ipanema and Copacabana districts, narrow pathways lead to grim slums where poverty, drug gangs and young men with assault rifles dominate life for hundreds of thousands of residents.

The advertisement on the Telegram app is as chilling as it is incongruous: A girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old.... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon." The posting in Arabic appeared on an encrypted conversation along with ads for kittens, weapons and tactical gear. It was shared with The Associated Press by an activist with the minority Yazidi community, whose women and children are being held as sex slaves by the extremists.

Every year, The Associated Press chooses a selection of photos that best documents the year’s top news stories as chronicled by photojournalists around the world. This year’s set of 100 compelling and newsworthy images was selected by Acting Director of Photography Denis Paquin.

Photos by Emilio Morenatti

The tradition of building human towers, or Castells, dates back to the 18th century and takes place during festivals in Catalonia, where "colles", or teams, compete to build the tallest and most complicated towers.